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Ship wrecked

Another presenter is leaving Blue Peter.

Given it’s just a few months since the last one quit, and the fact it’s the show’s 50th birthday this year, I reckon it’s time for the Beeb to bring the curtain down on this once indispensable institution. Because from what I’ve seen and read, Blue Peter is neither of those things anymore.

Since that revamp the other year, there’s virtually nothing within the fabric of the show to distinguish it from any other kids entertainment series. And it’s certainly no longer an institution. It’s never really recovered, either, from all the fuss about the competition-rigging and vote-massaging that forced the previous editor out. There’s no real reason, in short, for it to exist, other than for the sake of it, which is no sane reason at all.

I’ve no idea what kids today think of the show. And seeing as how it’s not meant to be watched by people my age, my views are ultimately bound to be coloured by (perpetually rose-tinted) memories of how it used to be.

Maybe it’s a big hit among the few hundred thousand people that tune in. Maybe it’s irrelevant.

Whatever, there’s little worse than detritus from yesteryear cluttering up a TV schedule. Grange Hill passed away with hardly any fuss. Blue Peter feels like it should be next.

1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. Mikey

    April 9, 2008 at 11:05 pm

    Yes, well Blue Peter has clearly declined in recent months since its “dumbing down” in September. But overall I think it’s been a big mistake of the BBC to dispense with so many of its much-loved and well-known brands – not so much Grange Hill, but certainly Top of the Pops and Grandstand. It is loyalty of the audience to shows such as these which give the BBC much goodwill among regular viewers – this is goodwill that the BBC would be foolish to dismiss, since it needs all the friends it can get in the current broadcasting climate.

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